New advancements
- Jui Keskar
- May 1, 2022
- 3 min read
1)
PD and gut
There is growing evidence which suggests an association between the gut and PD. As per a top school of medicine, a specific misguided protein, which accumulates in the brain and drives PD, can travel from the gut to the brain.
Following link has details about the research.
2)
Genetically edited bacteria could be the solution!
Researchers have created bacteria, which is capable of producing a steady and consistent source of medicine inside a patient gut. This research suggests a possibility for the genetically edited bacteria to be an efficient PD treatment. As per the researchers, pre-clinical studies have shown that the techniques is safe, well tolerated and can reduce the side effects due to other treatments.
Check the following original link for more details:
3)
Cell therapy and PD
After years of research on causes and treatment of PD, a top neurologist is hopeful that a new cell therapy can finally bring meaningful relief to patients with the progressive neurodegenerative movement disorder. The research is working on conducting first in-human clinical trial of transplanted stem cells that are engineered to replace neurons that are destroyed due to the condition. The new cell treatment is likely to restore brain’s ability to product dopamine.
Following original link has more details:
4)
Too young to get PD?
Because PD is typically associated with older individuals, the disease is often overlooked in younger people. Most people who get PD are over the age of 60. However, about 10-20% of people that get diagnosed in the US are under the age of 50 and about half of them are diagnosed before the age of 40.
Younger people experience the disease differently due to their unique life circumstances. Disease progression is usually slower in younger than older people because younger people have fewer general health problems and are more capable during physical therapy treatment. Other problems associated with PD, such as memory loss, confusion, and balance difficulties also tend to be less frequent in young people with the disease.
Since the youngsters are in their prime, PD can be incredibly isolating. But it’s important to realize that a PD diagnosis is not the end of their life. With the right perspective and support, they can continue to work, support their families and engage with friends and loved ones.
A top doctor recommends that once diagnosed, patients start building a care team headed by a neurologist – ideally a movement disorder specialist. Other key members of a PD care team include physical and occupational therapists to help maximize fine and gross motor skills; a speech pathologist to work on soft or garbled speech; and a dietician to address dietary changes, weight loss and constipation.
They should also try to find a supportive community.
Following original link has more details:
5)
Other recent advancements in the PD world
Current treatment is centered around dopaminergic tone in the corpus striatum of the brain. These however have limited ability to treat the non-dopamine-dependent symptoms of the disease like freezing of gait, cognitive impairment, etc. Some of the new treatment strategies include controlling progression by slowing the loss of dopaminergic neurons.
Drug repurposing is a tried-and-tested strategy that can cut down the time required for a new drug to reach the market. Regenerative gene therapies and cell-based therapies are also undergoing advanced development. Another option being explored is the use of neurosurgery such as focused and precise deep brain stimulation. Deep-brain stimulation is also explored as an option.
A major barrier is the lack of knowledge as to how the disease begins, what are its biomarkers, and the absence of robust disease models in the preclinical stage to test new agents that could help prevent the disease before too many neurons were lost.
Please check out the following original link for further details:
6)
PD as multiple diseases
As per a recent research paper published in a top journal, PD is not a single disease but instead reflects multiple biological diseases where different combinations of environmental, genetic and potential comorbid factors interact to direct individual disease trajectories.It is likely that initial causative changes for development of the disease need not occur in the central nervous system.
A more detailed account of this research can be found in the following original link:
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